After the Departure
by MelodiousVengeance
Summary: What I would like to think will happen after 3x22 "The Departure". Elena will be a vampire, and there will be DELENA! May also involve some Stefan/Rebekah and Klaus/Caroline. Enjoy.
1. Remember Breathing

**Author Note: Here is another Vampire Diaries fic for you all. A heads up for any who read my other one, "I Told You So" I will be tweaking that a bit. As always please Read and Review. Good or bad, I want to hear it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.**

Breath in, breath out.

That was the first thing on my mind when I woke up. My throat and chest felt dry and raw like I was getting over some cold or something.

As I lowered myself back down, thinking I was in bed my whole body came into contact with something hard. Confused I whipped around to look at what was under me instead of my pillow.

It was a hard metal... Thing.

"Where am I?" I thought aloud confused. "Elena," I heard someone speak and then noticed Stefan standing over me a worried and somber look on his face. "Stefan? Where an I?" I asked looking a around. I thought I was in the hospital but this was a weird room. It was different from anywhere I had been before.

"Elena!" as I turned towards a new voice Damon came barging in looking like a bat out of hell. He looked furious and scared and sad all at the same time. But under all of that, he looked beautiful.

That was when I noticed the differences. Everything looked and felt different. It was like cleaning the static up on a tv. The picture was cleaner, edges more crisp, colors enhanced.

"What happened?" I finally asked looking from one brother to the next. The mix of emotions on each face telling me something was wrong. "Where am I?" I was getting sick of being ignored. Every time I asked a question the looks on their faces just went from one end of the pity scale to the other. "Hey," I said finally turning to hang over the metal so ovoid stand up. I then realize my feet didn't touch the ground. Looking down the wall there was a line of doors, just like the one at my feet? "Oh my god," I shrieked as I jumped from the metal drawer as I now saw. "This is the morgue," I said through my hands.

Damon and Stefan still had yet to say a word, leaving me to work everything out for myself. I couldn't decide if this was a good or bad thing.

"Meredith gave me Vampire blood didn't she?" I finally managed to gasp out, feeling tears stream down my face. I wanted nothing more than to sink to the ground and sob, but as I watched Stefan nod solemnly and Damon start walking towards me I knew I had to be strong. There were a lot of things that were going to change.

"Elena we need to leave. We can't have you causing a bloodbath at a hospital," I couldn't help but wince at the term. I knew Damon was making a good point but it still hurt to hear. I was a monster now.

A hunter.

No! I couldn't think that really could I? That was calling everyone I cared about monsters. Caroline, Tyler, Stefan and Damon, even Bonnie's mother, though I didn't agree with the things she had done wasn't a monster.

"Ok, let's go," I said bounding my leg a little, feeling anxious. I knew what it had been like for Caroline and people when they went through this stage. All they wanted was blood and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to control myself. I was scared, I don't want to hurt anyone, so I did the first thing on my mind to try and ensure everything went right.

I bit on her lip as I held both my hands out to the brothers, my right to Stefan and left to Damon. I hoped that if I had a Salvatore on each arm I might be able to keep going without any incidents, and at least if they were both there they could make sure nothing happened. The two together would be strong enough that they could make sure I stayed in line.

We were in a hospital after all and though I felt fine for now I wasn't sure when the cravings for blood were really going to set in and I didn't want to accidentally drink any.

I had a big decision to make.

Sure, my life had me surrounded by vampires practically day and night, but was that the life for me? I honestly didn't know. The whole life definitely had its pros and cons and I was going to have to take what little time I had to figure them out and weigh them. And I was going to need a little help. This was going to end up every bit Jeremy's decision as mine. He had been through so much because of vampires and I knew deep down he wasn't too fond of them at this point in his life. On the other hand, she couldn't leave him all alone. Who did he had left? Mom and dad were gone, Jenna was gone, even Alaric was now gone and they didn't have anyone left other than each other.

"Thanks." I say when the two take my hand. I can feel the difference. They weren't as cold as I was used to; they were almost warm by my sides. Stefan gripped tight, and I looked at his face. I couldn't help the feeling of my stomach dropping. He looked so sad and defeated. It was then I risked a chance at looking at Damon. I couldn't read the expression on his face. He was like a brick wall as far as emotions went, or at least leaving emotions on his face.

I took a few breaths as I looked at the door, scared. I knew in the back of my head that I didn't need the breaths anymore. Breathing for me now would be unnecessary, but it still helped me calm myself a little bit. I wasn't sure how I was going to react and I would never be able to explain how thankful I was that the brothers were leaving me to make the decision to move and leave. I needed this time to prep myself and I think they knew it.

"Ok. I think I'm ready," I said looking from Stefan to Damon. Damon nodded first and reached forward and opened the door that would lead us to the hall that would connect us with the rest of the Hospital. And me with the rest of the human world.


	2. Moving Towards a Decision

**Authors Note: Alright here we are chapter two. I hope you enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.**

When we walked through the door I specter to be hit with the smell of blood like in the movies. I should have known better I know, but I wasn't exactly thinking clearly.

My hands were shaking and I felt Damon tighten his grip and look at him with a thankful smile. It didn't help to stop the shaking or anything, but at least it showed he cared. Even after I had chosen to turn around and return to Mystic Falls. After I told him I still this Stefan.

We walked down the hall that led us to an elevator. I forgot the morgue was I the basement of the hospital. Stefan pressed the call button and we waited, me bouncing a little. I couldn't help but jump when the ding sound came from the elevator to alert us that it was there. The doors opened and I froze.

"Jeremy," I said almost breathless. He looked a mess, like he had been crying. I was about to ask if he was ok, but he surprised me an shot out of the elevator and wrapped his arms around me. Normally I would have told him he was chocking me, but this was different. He needed this, and so did I. I tore my hands free and wrapped my arms around him.

"I thought I lost you too," he spoke no more than a whisper, though he didn't have to be louder. Everyone could hear him anyways. We could all hear the tears in his voice and it brought tears right back to my own eyes and I let them.

Isn't that what I always preached? Don't hold things in? "I'm not going anywhere just yet. Ok?" I told him and I felt him nod against my shoulder. I kissed my baby brothers temple and squeezed him one last time. Then the moment was broken.

"This is nice and everything, but we really gotta go," Damon decided he was getting impatient apparently and grabbed my hand back and pulled. I wasn't really happy with it, but knew he was right. I unwrapped my free hand and held Jeremy's. I wasn't sure what to do with Stefan yet, he still looked so upset and I knew I was going to need to have a talk with him later.

"Cozy," Jeremy was the first one to bring up the fact that the elevator was rather small for all four of us to squeeze into, but it wasn't really like we had a choice. I didn't want to be away from Jeremy and I doubted Damon or Stefan would let me roam the halls of a hospital by myself. After to oft I doubted any of the boys in the elevator with me were going to leave me alone for a while. They were overprotective like that.

I squeezed Damon's hand as hard as I could when I saw him about to open his mouth. I knew he was going to have some sort of snide comment to reply and I really didn't need any fights or anything breaking out. We were in a small space and Jeremy was in enough danger standing next to me at the moment.

"Uh oh," I said, starting to breath heavy again. It was weird that I still did it on instinct, even though I knew I didn't need it. I was starting to get that hungry feeling. I was really angry actually; it felt like I hadn't eaten in a few days, instead of a few hours. "Stefan?" I asked taking my hand from Jeremy's and offering it to the vampire. If I was going to have to go through the hospital feeling like this, I wanted to make sure nothing went wrong. I saw the look on Jeremy's face and my heart sank.

I don't think he could decide how he was feeling now that he saw me up and about. The poor id had already been through so much and now he had to deal with the fact that he may end up with a vampire sister.

Stefan moved just in time because he grabbed my hand and held tight just when the doors to the elevator dinged open and the smells of the hospital wafted in. My whole body stiffened and I closed my eyes a moment before walking through the doors. I could do this, I knew I could, I could stay strong and get to the car before anything happened. I just had to stay strong.

As soon as I moved Damon and Stefan moved in sync, always staying by my side. I could sense Jeremy right behind me and it gave me some sort of comfort. I walked as fast as I could without drawing too much attention to us. I noticed Meredith on the way out and nodded slightly and then moved on. Right now I didn't have time to talk to her, but if there was time later, there would be a talk.

I felt a small weight lift off my shoulders when he managed to get outside. All I could really smell was fresh air thankfully. I let out a small sigh and allowed Damon to pull me towards his car. I climbed into the passenger side and pulled my knees up to my chest, my chin on my knees. I watched as Stefan and Jeremy got into one car and Damon came back to get into the driver's side of his. "They're going to ride behind us," Damon told me as he turned the key and the car roared into life. I just nodded.

I was only going to have so long to decide what to do. A few months ago the choice would have been easy. I wouldn't have made the transition. This wasn't what I wanted. I didn't want to be a vampire; I wanted to live a normal human life, and dying was normal. It was human. Now, I had more on my plate, I was responsible for Jeremy. Without me there was no one else, no Jenna, no Alaric, just me. How could I be so selfish as to let myself die without a fight? How could I leave him to be all alone, to be put into some sort of foster system or something until he was eighteen? It wasn't right.

"What am I going to do?" I asked aloud. I wasn't really asking Damon so much as I was just trying to hear the words, make everything feel real. I should have known that he was going to answer anyways though; it was sort of what he did. "You're going to have to make a tough choice," I couldn't help but wince at the statement. He was still sore over my picking Stefan, and I couldn't help wondering if I had made the right choice. Damon seemed so much better with the whole thing than Stefan was.

He was helping to make this feel less difficult. Made e feel like if I did make the transition he wouldn't think any less of me. Stefan however, I couldn't be so sure. He just looked so distraught, what would he do if I decided to become a vampire? I was scared to find out. Even if I was technically dead, I was still cared to lose him. To lose either of them.

I must have been too busy thinking the whole way home because when Damon stopped the car I was honestly startled. I raised my head and lowered my knees. I turned to open the door, but then found that Damon was already standing there with the door open for me.

I stepped out and looked at my house, my home. It was time to make the hardest decision of my life, and I was only eighteen years old. I was too young to be making these sorts of decisions. "Come on," Damon said, taking my hand and pulling me towards the house. Jeremy and Stefan were just going in. It was so weird, but I was scared. This was where I was going to have to make a stand, and I felt so alone. I turned to look at Damon and he nodded reassuringly. I might as well have been compelled because that one nodded convinced me to nod back and convinced my feet to start moving towards the door, and the biggest decision of my life.


	3. The Deed is Done

**Authors Note: Here you go, chapter three. I hope you enjoy. Please Read and Review, ever little bit of feedback helps.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

I couldn't help but attempt to stall while I stood there in the driveway. I knew what walking to those doors would mean. That I couldn't run. That I was stuck, I was going to be forced to make another decision. Why was it that all of the hard decisions were falling on me?

'_Stop it,'_ I thought to myself. Wasn't this what I had wanted? To be able to be the one to make all the decisions, make sure everything went exactly the way I wanted them to go? I brought this on myself didn't I? There really was no winning, it was either you made all of the decisions, easy or hard, or you made none of the decisions and let everyone else choose your fate. Where was that happy medium other people seemed to be able to find?

Damon seemed to have caught on that I was trying to stall because after only seconds he pushed on my shoulder a little budging me to the door. I tried to resist, but he was still stronger than me. How stupid of me. I had completely forgotten that I didn't get any vampire strength or anything like that until I had fed. Until I drank blood. At least that saved me from one of the things I had thought would be the most worrisome.

I don't know how I would have reacted if Jeremy had needed to invite me into my own home. The place I had spent my whole life.

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the movement. With one more nudge from Damon I groaned a little and then walked away from his pushing hand and walked by myself towards the door. It felt like each step took hours and the door was moving further and further away. I would have thought that it would be the opposite since I didn't want to get there. Didn't want to have to make the decisions. Maybe it was just the universe being ironic. Me wanting to get it done and over with and the universe was just going to make everything harder. Just because my footsteps took forever didn't mean that my mind worked at a different speed. It didn't give me anymore time to try and figure everything out. My brain slowed right down with it, like all my thoughts were moving through water.

When I finally got through the door she saw that Jeremy and Stefan were already in the kitchen. Jeremy was at the table sitting with his hands folded on the table and Stefan was moving around in the kitchen. From what I could see he was making tea and I couldn't help but be thankful.

I was surprised with how Jeremy was taking all of this. I had thought he would have been angry. That was what seemed to happen whenever anyone got hurt or ended up a vampire. Looking at him there had made up my mind. If Jeremy agreed to it, I would make the transition. Not because I was afraid of death, or because I wanted this life as an immortal being. I'd choose it for my little brother. So I could always be there and make sure he didn't lose anyone else. I didn't have it in me anymore, and he was still so young. I didn't think he did either.

It didn't take any nudging from Damon for me to move from there. I walked straight to the table, sitting across from Jeremy and taking the hand he had folded on top. I was glad he got the message and turned his head up towards me, breaking my heart. He had tears streaming down his face again, and I couldn't help but fear he would choose the opposite of what I had. It wasn't like I could blame him if he did. It would be hard for his older sister to be a vampire. Eventually we wouldn't be able to pull off being siblings. Soon I would be his daughter, granddaughter. Like all vampires I wouldn't be able to stay in Mystic Falls. I would eventually have to leave and move around; only returning when everyone I knew was dead and gone.

It wasn't necessarily the life I would choose for myself, but it was worth it. I would do whatever it took to make sure Jeremy was safe and loved. That he wouldn't be alone.

"Jer? Do you want me to stay?" I couldn't actually bring myself to say the actual words. To ask him if he wanted me to drink blood and become a vampire like so many of the people we loved. It wasn't like he wouldn't understand what I meant. Considering the situation, it was all very clear. It was almost funny when the look passed over Jeremy's face. At first I was surprised he looked a little confused, and then shock crossed his face. "Wha?" he asked staring. I knew he had understood the question, but I guess the fact that I had asked it to begin with was a little strange.

"It's your decision too. We're family and we're all each other have left," he squeezed my hand tight when I brought up the fact that we didn't really have anyone left. I knew it was still painful to hear, but it was the truth, the reality of our situation and no matter what I knew we had to face it.

"I don't want you to die," and that was it. The decision was made and my fate was decided. Now the only problem was the fact that I was going to have to have blood now. I turned first to Stefan. "It doesn't have to be human does it?" I asked nervously. I think I knew the answer before I even asked, but the reality of it hit when Stefan shook his head. This was the thing that scared me the most. I was afraid I would turn into a ripper or anything. I wanted to be in control, I admired Caroline for how well she pulled it off and I could only hope I could be like that.

"Can I have a bag?" this time I looked to Damon this time. I didn't think he would deny me one bag of his human blood he had at home, so it shocked me when he shook his head. "Why not?" I gasped out. He couldn't be so mad at me for choosing Stefan that he would deny me this. Did he want me to die? I was about to snap again but Stefan cut in first. He sounded angry and there was a low growl in his voice when he spoke. I may be dead, but it didn't mean that it didn't scare me. It was rare for Stefan to get mad, which is why it always made it worse.

"It's not safe. That was what Caroline did I'm assuming, but it didn't hold her. That was why she snacked on the nurse, and why she killed that boy. You need the fresh stuff," he practically sneered. I couldn't believe Stefan was being so mean. I was so shocked I didn't even notice Jeremy getting up and moving around, that is until I smelled it and heard the knife hit the ground. My mouth suddenly ached and I threw my hand over my mouth and bit my lip hard, drawing my knees to my chest. None of it helped thought; I could still smell the blood from my little brother's hand. "Go clean that up. Go Jer," my voice strained as I said it.

"Please. You need it. They won't let anything happen," Jeremy pushed his hand close to my face and it was more than I could take. It felt like I had fire under my skin and the muscle was peeling from bone. "We'll watch you," I heard Damon as he placed a hand on my shoulder and I felt Jeremy lay his head on my other shoulder and hugged his uninjured hand around me. I could even feel Stefan standing behind me. He turned my head to look at Jeremy, and his eyes met mine. Tears were back and he nodded encouragingly. I slowly removed my teeth from my lip and pulled my hand down, reaching down across my stomach to reach for Jeremy's hand on my back. "Drink Elena," Jeremy said with convection and that was the last bit of encouragement I needed, I moved my mouth to his hand and drew the blood into my mouth.

And then everything exploded.


End file.
